If something has overtonesof a particular thing or quality, it suggests that thing or quality but does not openly express it.
The strike has taken on overtones of a civil rights campaign.
It's a quite profound story, with powerful religious overtones.
Synonyms: connotation, association, suggestion, sense More Synonyms of overtone
overtone in British English
(ˈəʊvəˌtəʊn)
noun
1. (often plural)
additional meaning or nuance
overtones of despair
2. music, acoustics
any of the tones, with the exception of the fundamental, that constitute a musical sound and contribute to its quality, each having a frequency that is a multiple of the fundamental frequency
See also harmonic (sense 7), partial (sense 6)
overtone in American English
(ˈoʊvərˌtoʊn)
noun
1. Acoustics and Music
any of the attendant higher tones heard with a fundamental tone produced by the vibration of a given string or column of air, having a frequency of vibration that is an exact multiple of the frequency of the fundamental
2.
an implication; nuance
usually used in pl.
a reply full of overtones
Word origin
transl. of Ger oberton, contr. < oberpartialton, upper partial tone
Examples of 'overtone' in a sentence
overtone
Relations with Britain have subsequently been tinged with racial overtones.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But the contest is riddled with corruption and murky politics, tinged with racial overtones.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Not all of the issues were religious, although they had religious overtones at times.
Christianity Today (2000)
But it's almost too slick for emotional engagement and beyond its generalised political overtones the play lacks solid ideas.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Music with no religious overtones, music in public, began to appear as an undesirable thing for more and more of the population.
Judith Flanders Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain (2006)
In other languages
overtone
British English: overtone NOUN
If something has overtones of a particular thing or quality, it suggests that thing or quality but does not openly express it.
The strike has taken on overtones of a civil rights campaign.
American English: overtone
Brazilian Portuguese: implicação
Chinese: 暗示之意
European Spanish: nota
French: connotation
German: Unterton
Italian: connotazione
Japanese: 含み
Korean: 함축
European Portuguese: implicação
Latin American Spanish: nota
(noun)
Definition
an additional meaning or hint
a powerful story, with religious overtones
Synonyms
connotation
It's just one of those words that's got so many negative connotations.
association
suggestion
There is absolutely no suggestion of any mainstream political party involvement.
sense
a noun which has two senses
hint
I'd dropped a hint about having an exhibition of his work.
flavour
implication
The implication was obvious: vote for us or you'll be sorry.
significance
nuance
Our eyes can communicate virtually every subtle nuance of emotion.
colouring
innuendo
The report was based on rumours and innuendo.
undercurrent
There is a strong undercurrent of sadness in the film.
intimation
I did not have any intimation that he was going to resign.
Seeallusion
Nearby words of
overtone
overt
overtake
overthrow
overtone
overture
overtures
overturn
Synonyms of 'overtone'
overtone
Explore 'overtone' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of intimation
I did not have any intimation that he was going to resign.
Synonyms
hint,
warning,
suggestion,
indication,
allusion,
inkling,
insinuation
in the sense of nuance
Definition
a subtle difference, as in colour, meaning, or tone
Our eyes can communicate virtually every subtle nuance of emotion.
Synonyms
subtlety,
degree,
distinction,
graduation,
refinement,
nicety,
gradation,
suggestion,
trace,
hint,
shade
in the sense of sense
Definition
specific meaning
a noun which has two senses
Synonyms
meaning,
definition,
interpretation,
significance,
message,
import,
substance,
implication,
drift,
purport,
nuance,
gist,
signification,
denotation
in the sense of suggestion
Definition
a hint or indication
There is absolutely no suggestion of any mainstream political party involvement.
Synonyms
hint,
implication,
insinuation,
intimation
in the sense of undercurrent
Definition
an underlying opinion or emotion
There is a strong undercurrent of sadness in the film.